Can anyone recommend good makers of soft vent figures? Thank you.

There are others but this is certainly a great place to start:

http://www.axtell.com

Axtell Expressions...THE BEST!!!

but you can also check out some of our stuff at...

http://kadoopsypuppets.multiply.com/

I think the folkmanis puppets are THE BEST!

Less scary for young' uns!

I still use some Folkmanis puppets for my shows (see my sheepdog over there in my avatar ?), but found that a lot of the preschools I work at were starting to use the same puppets in their classrooms over the past few years. Another problem I have encountered is that very few of the Folkmanis puppets actually fit an adult hand. They are made for children's smaller hands. I still use the mouse (a VERY tight fit) and the peacock, which is one of their more stunning creations. I gave the rest of my Folkmanis collection to my son, who collects stuffed animals. The Folkmanis puppets fit right in, as they are basically a cross between stuffed/plush animals and puppets.

My stable of characters includes quite a few different builders, but the primary two are Axtell and Wanlu. I had to think carefully about which ones to use, since puppets can indeed be scary to very young children, my main audience.

One thing that has occured that I found interesting was that after some of the children have seen me at their school for a few visits, I can start bringing some of my bigger puppets and soft vent figures. I held back on using my Wanlu monkey after getting him, as he is pretty large, and could be considered scary by some very young kids. However, I have used him quite a few times at preschools recently, and he went over like gangbusters ! Same thing held true for my Axtell lion, and he is one BIG soft figure !

Patience and timing with kids is everything....

:)

Mark

I am a huge fan and user of Pavlov's Puppets.

I'm probably the biggest fan of Axtell Expressions.

...and oh I like that Wanlu Puppets too...really not bad for the price they offer...and the designs are cool.

This one is their latest best seller...

http://kadoopsypuppets.multiply.com/phot......photo=22

http://kadoopsypuppets.multiply.com/phot......photo=23